1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mechanized vehicle washing apparatus utilizing an improved cleaning material and, more specifically, to a deep pile fur-like cleaning material, and a mechanized vehicle washing apparatus employing the material.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of mechanized vehicle washing, improvements have been made over the years to the mechanical structure which facilitates the movement of rotating brush assemblies over and around the surfaces of an automobile to be cleaned. One such advancement in the art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,299,003, which describes therein a vehicle washing apparatus which includes a supporting frame, a brush support arm pivotally mounted at one end directly to the frame, a rotatable mount for mounting a rotatable brush at the distal end of the arm, and a drive for rotating the brush. Referring to FIG. 1, a brush assembly of the cleaning apparatus swings about pivot axis A, rotates about axis B, and swivels in the direction C. A rotatable shaft 20 carries a bristle drum which has bristles 24 projecting radially outwardly from an outer cylindrical surface thereof.
While mechanized vehicle washing is generally accepted, there has been a recent trend back to hand washing, whereby softer cleaning materials can be employed, thus obviating the need for bristle-type brush assemblies as illustrated in FIG. 1.
Hand washing may be desirable, but it has practical limitations. For example, it is labor intensive, and adequate supply of inexpensive labor cannot be guaranteed. Even if cheap labor is available, the quality of the wash is often not as good as with mechanized systems which ensure complete coverage of vehicle surfaces.
It is generally known to provide a brush assembly similar to the one illustrated in FIG. 1, in which strips of cloth are mounted on the brush hub 22 instead of the bristles 24. Normally, the brush hub 22 has a diameter of between four and five inches, sometimes up to thirteen inches, yet the overall diameter when the cloth strips extend radially outwardly in a substantially horizontal disposition under centrifugal force, is about forty inches. The strips of cloth have a length which tends to cause them to wrap around radio antennae, rear view mirrors, bumpers, etc., thus causing damage to the strips and to the cars they are cleaning.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,359 (Bivens) describes a brush assembly having an inflatable core and a plurality of strips of felt-like material. The strips of felt-like material vary in length along the support shaft so as to provide a uniform outer diameter even though the inflatable core is provided only on a medial portion of the shaft. Although the inflatable core is provided for safety reasons, many of the strips of felt-like cloth are long enough in the radial direction to damage antennae, mirrors, etc.